


Naturally

by BeautifulSolo



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vaguely Magical, BaekMin, M/M, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 16:10:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13685142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSolo/pseuds/BeautifulSolo
Summary: Dongho has liked Minhyun forever, but after only ever seeing him from the other side of the shop counter, he's finally getting to spend some time alone with him. Better save the date - February 14th.





	Naturally

“Yo, Dongho! Your boyfriend’s here!”

 

“I told you I don’t- ah! H-hey there!” Dongho hauled himself up from the floor with a clatter as several (thankfully empty) small animal cages tumbled to the ground, the escaped lizard he’d been pursuing scurrying away under the counters. On the other side of the shop, thoughtfully watching the fish swimming around in their tank by the entrance, was Dongho’s favourite regular customer.

 

Minhyun. The boy from the Botanical Emporium in the middle of town. And also Dongho’s big embarrassing crush. He seemed to come by almost every day, picking up seemingly random items and smiling at Dongho in that terrible way that made his insides turn to mush. Dongho would never admit it, but he secretly made a note of which products the other boy would buy most often, and kept one or two extras in the back for him, just in case they sold out. Was that creepy? Was that good customer service? Dongho had been working in the shop for so long now, but still wasn’t really sure where the line between those things was.

 

Minhyun was smiling right now - giving Dongho a little wave from over by the fishtank. Calling out a cheery  _ ‘hello!’ _ he made his way over to the register, picking up a jar on the way.

 

Silver-backed lunar draco scales. He bought those a lot - expensive, but excellent for boosting the magical properties of all kinds of plants if used during growth. Dongho wondered what kind of plants Minhyun was planning on growing now that spring was on its way.

  
“Back again today?” It was a stupid question really, considering Minhyun was directly in front of him, but Dongho did his best to smile like he hadn’t said something dumb and took the jar from Minhyun’s hand. It was always difficult to stay cool when the other boy was so close, as not only was he just  _ obscenely good looking _ , but he also always smelled like flowers and fresh leaves and honestly Dongho could just  _ die _ . “Ah, watch your step.  _ My coworker _ let one of the treetail lizards out, and the little guy could be anywhere.” From over by the bird supplies, Aron just scoffed, but did at least crouch down and start looking for the lizard. 

 

Minhyun, entirely serene, just chuckled and Dongho wondered how such a boy could even be real. “I’ll be careful… Just these for now, though.”

“Got it. Also uh, if there’s anything you might need tomorrow, I recommend picking it up today. We’re closed tomorrow, so…”

 

Dongho hadn’t expected Minhyun’s usual calm expression to shift to one of surprise. Of course, Minhyun did seem a bit spacey - coming in as often as he did, he probably would end up forgetting something. The other boy’s smile pursed a little, into a pout.

 

“Tomorrow? Do you...have plans? Or…?”

“We’re always closed on the fourteenth of the month.” Dongho scanned the jar quickly before handing it back to Minhyun. “Maybe you’ve never come by on that day before, but it’s when we collect some of the supplies for the store. You know, brushing all the reptiles for their scales, harvesting silk from the weaver-worms, that kind of thing. It’s best to do it on a lucky day.”

“Lucky…?” Minhyun tilted his head to one side in confusion, but his expression had softened again. “We have some routines for lucky days in our shop, too, but wouldn’t that normally be on the seventh…?”

“Fourteen is two sevens,” Dongho winked, hoping he wasn’t blushing as Minhyun pressed some money into his palm, “doubly lucky. But yeah, that’s why we’re closed tomorrow. There was a migration of startails overhead a couple of days ago, so I’m going to be looking for any fallen feathers out in the forest tomorrow if you’re interested in buying those. Pretty potent if used the right way-”

“I have no idea what a startail is,” Minhyun began, but he was smiling widely. Were his cheeks a little pink, or was it Dongho’s imagination? “But I’m going into the forest tomorrow too. The weather recently and the full moon tonight will be doing wonders for some of the mosses that grow there, so I was going to collect some for the shop. Maybe we could go together? I mean, since we’re both going anyway…”

 

Dongho’s heart practically swelled. Seeing Minhyun outside the shop? Actually making plans to do so instead of the occasional awkward wave at the grocery store? Count him in.

“Sure? I’m heading out around noon, so…”

“Awesome.” Minhyun was beaming, and put the jar of scales into his bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then! Don’t keep me waiting~” With a wink that twisted Dongho’s stomach into knots, Minhyun made his way back out of the shop, only pausing to wave at the fishtank on his way out.

 

The front door closed, the tiny bell above it ringing gently, and Aron popped back up from the floor with a squirming lizard in his hands.

“Amazing.” He smirked, holding up the lizard. “Incredible. I’m proud of you, Romeo.”

“Shut up.” Dongho realised he was still holding the money Minhyun had given him, and shoved it into the register quickly. “You’re just mad because you have to brush the reptiles tomorrow.”

“Oh, I love brushing the reptiles. They make for very intelligent conversation.” His eyebrows were dancing and it  _ pissed Dongho off _ . “Anyways, maybe you should head out early tonight - I’ll check the register and close up while you start planning what to wear on your date.”

“It’s not-” It totally was, and Aron knew that, and Dongho hated that Aron knew that. “I said shut up. I’m not smiling. I’m mad. Leave me alone.”

 

Tomorrow, February 14th, Dongho would be hanging out with Minhyun. Alone.

 

Somehow he felt like this was an even bigger deal than he already thought it was, but couldn’t put his finger on why.

 

Maybe he’d figure it out tomorrow.

  
  


**~*~**

  
  


“Oh my god, it’s practically glowing. It’s so beautiful I could cry I never expected it to be thriving this well I’m gonna fill like five jars of it it’s so  _ fantastic _ oh my  _ god- _ ”

 

Minhyun was a  _ huge nerd _ , and while he hadn’t previously thought it possible Dongho found himself falling even more in love with him with every minute that went by. While Dongho had shown up that day in his usual clothes and carrying a couple of plastic shopping bags to put feathers in, Minhyun was incredibly prepared with a satchel full of glass jars and pressing books and, most painfully for Dongho’s weak heart, a large pair of glasses perched adorably on his already handsome face.

 

_ (I don’t normally wear glasses,  _ Minhyun had admitted when he pointed them out,  _ but they’re magically enhanced. My roommate is a Spellcaster and he got hold of them for me. They’re great for seeing all the little subtleties in the plants so you know how healthy and potent they are.) _

 

“Need a hand putting it in some jars?” Dongho didn’t know a single thing about moss, but the way Minhyun got so starry-eyed just looking at it, he wondered if it was time to learn. “As long as it doesn’t need a particularly delicate touch…”

 

“That would be great!” He handed Dongho an empty jar, almost shaking with excitement. “Just scoop it in, it’s pretty resilient stuff. You can use it for pretty much anything!”

 

He knelt down beside Minhyun in the grass, nodding along with the boy’s passionate plant rambling and starting to scoop some of the moss from the ground and into a jar. It was kind of gross, and muddy, but the moss really was glowing - it was almost calming just holding it in his hands, the moss cooling his palms and letting out its soft, comforting light. He almost wanted to keep some.

 

Of course, he was only calm for a moment, and then his hand brushed against Minhyun’s while reaching for more moss and his Big Embarrassing Crush reared its ugly head once again. He shoved the moss into the jar haphazardly.

 

It was a little chilly. Of course it was - it was February. But Dongho felt so, so warm whenever their hands touched. He wondered if Minhyun was doing it on purpose.

 

“So, your feathers.” Minhyun suddenly announced, twisting the lid onto another jar of moss. “What are we looking for?”

 

“Well, they come in a lot of different colours and sizes...but what you’re looking for is how they catch the light. They look almost like glitter at the tips.” Minhyun was nodding, but Dongho didn’t know if he was getting his point across very well. Maybe this was how Minhyun felt when he was trying to explain to Dongho about plants. “Most of them will be stuck up in the trees, but some fall all the way to the ground. You don’t need to look, though.”

 

“No, no! I want to! I have my glasses and everything!” He tapped the side of his glasses with a smile, seemingly unbothered by the little mossy smear left on the frames. “I’ll be looking at trees anyway, since all the  _ really _ good stuff grows around the bases of trees. It wouldn’t hurt to look up a little.”

 

“Sure. I’ll make sure to look down.” Dongho knew he wouldn’t be of any help, but the way Minhyun’s whole face lit up made him glad he said it, anyway.

 

It wasn’t just the moss, but Minhyun who glowed in the winter sun. As they continued further into the woodland, arms brushing together occasionally and Minhyun pointing out various plantlife as they passed it, Dongho felt more than a little relieved that any attempt to tell Minhyun what he was thinking would probably end up sticking in his throat.

Looking for feathers and eggshells and such in the woods was always so...dull for Dongho when he did it alone. It went by a lot faster, sure, but even when he didn’t know what the heck Minhyun was talking about, he was still happy to be with him.

 

Gross.

 

Minhyun as he was now was so different to Minhyun as he was when he visited the shop. But Dongho liked that. He liked both Minhyuns - the preppy-looking, princely Minhyun who always smelled like flowers and wore whimsical little accessories made of twigs, and the babbling botanical nerd Minhyun who had grass and bark stains on his knees and leaves in his hair from climbing trees in search of feathers and mushrooms.

 

Dongho wondered how many more Minhyuns there were that he had yet to see.

 

He’d probably like them too.

 

“So like, I started with the whole plant thing when my sister was a teenager.” Minhyun was halfway up another tree, waving his arm uselessly in the direction of a small cluster of feathers up in the branches, when he started talking again. Okay, so Minhyun hadn’t even  _ stopped _ talking for very long, just long enough to climb the tree, but still. “She spent so much money on various lotions and potions and stuff for beauty and I figured, hey, if I could learn about plant properties and stuff, I could get her to pay me for it. I could get all the insecure teenagers to pay me for it. I was only planning on studying runic magic instead, anyway, but botanical magic ended up being way more fun.” He closed his hands around the feathers, as well as several leaves, before half-jumping-half-falling out of the tree. Dongho had half a mind to stop Minhyun from climbing any more trees before he ended up breaking his neck. But he couldn’t say no to that face. Not when Minhyun’s cheeks were flushed under a couple of smudges of mud. “What about you? Where did you start?”

 

Minhyun pushed the feathers into Dongho’s hands even though the feather bag was already open. And closer to Minhyun than Dongho had been. Dongho needed some time to collect himself else he open his mouth and  _ the world started when you came along _ or something similarly awful came out. “I didn’t have a choice really. My family raise unicorns.”

 

_ “Nice.” _

 

“Yeah,” animals. Dongho could handle those. “They’re pretty rad. I actually moved here to spread the sales of the unicorn products they make. You know, the hairs and stuff. But city people like  _ convenience _ and having  _ everything in one place _ , so I got together with some other guys to stock more varied stuff. I brought in the unicorn supplies and deal with bird things; Jonghyun - you’ve met Jonghyun, right? - he started us on the reptiles, and he’s trying to branch out into dragons, but it’s a pretty tough market to get into. Aron does the math and helps with the boring stuff, but the animals all seem to like him the most. It’s not fair.” Okay, maybe that was a little childish, but it did make Minhyun laugh, so it was probably worth the tradeoff in dignity.

 

“What about the fish?”

“What  _ about _ the fish?”

“The fish in your shop.” Minhyun looked at Dongho like he was quite mad. “What are they for? Like, do you sell the fish? Or do they make something? I know about aquatic plants but…” he laughed, a little embarrassed. “Not fish.”

 

“They’re my friends.”

Dongho wasn’t sure what reaction he expected, but it wasn’t for Minhyun to  _ coo _ at him.

 

“You’re cute, Kang Dongho.” He grinned. Dongho was pretty sure he could feel his soul leaving his body. “Really cute.”

Minhyun linked his little finger with Dongho’s and the intelligent sound Dongho made in response probably didn’t mean anything in any language, but he still worried that Minhyun would see right through him and hear  _ oh god i have such a big crush on you I’m dying _ anyway.

“I almost feel kind of bad,” he continued, looking up at the sky like the clouds overhead were the most interesting thing in the world, “that you’re out here with me on today of all days, when you probably have somebody else you should have made plans with.”

 

When Dongho just looked at him in confusion, Minhyun bit his lip, cheeks flushing. “Come on, do you expect me to believe a cute guy like you doesn’t already have a valentine?”

 

Oh.

Wait.

 

It was the fourteenth. It was February. It was  _ February fourteenth.  _ **_It was Valentine’s Day._ **

 

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” Dongho blurted suddenly, feeling the heat rising to his face immediately.

 

“Yes.” Minhyun was smiling again and Dongho wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He didn’t know anything at this point  _ he was so dumb _ . “It is. It’s Valentine’s Day, and you’re here. With me.”

 

“But why are  _ you _ here?” He could only hope it was coming out coherently. “I’m always here on the fourteenth but- but don’t you have somewhere else you should be? On... _ today?” _

 

“Nowhere I’d rather be than here.” It was painfully earnest and struck Dongho right through the heart as Minhyun glanced around, twiddling the hem of his sweater anxiously between his fingers.

 

The wind blew gently, and though the breeze carried a chill, Dongho didn’t feel it at all. He was so warm, it bloomed out from his chest and all the way to his fingertips. To where his little finger was still linked ever so lightly with Minhyun’s.

 

A muttered  _ me too _ that was almost lost, but the trees still heard it. The wind still heard it. Minhyun still heard it.

 

He beamed, almost blinding. “I was gonna put together a bouquet or something, you know. But I’m glad we’re doing this instead - I don’t even know if you know all the flower language stuff.”

 

“Nothing.” Somehow he felt so happy but also so stupid. Minhyun had a habit of making him feel that way. More happy than stupid, though. “This is probably better.”

 

“Moss is romantic in its own way. Come on - I think I see more feathers! I’ll give you a boost into that tree, maybe?”

 

Minhyun was taller, and could probably reach the feathers more easily than Dongho could, but his heart was rabbiting in his chest and maybe it would do him some good to look away from Minhyun, just for a moment. Trying not to flinch or melt at Minhyun’s touch, he let the other boy boost him into the tree and, in what he hoped was a swift movement, reached out to grab the feathers tightly before jumping back down. The bark was rough on his skin and the landing was messy, but still-

 

-ah.

When he stood up, Dongho found himself pushed back against the tree, one of Minhyun’s hands pressed against the trunk just beside his head. Their eyes met properly, intensely, and without thinking Dongho let the feathers in his hand fall to the ground.

Neither of them moved. Dongho couldn’t breathe properly again.

Minhyun’s gaze flicked between Dongho’s eyes and his lips, and he couldn’t help but mirror him. February what? It felt like everything was suddenly on fire.

 

After a long silence, Minhyun mumbled. “I didn’t think this through. At all.”

 

And then he leaned in to seal their mouths together.

 

Dongho wasn’t sure why, but he was totally ready for it. His hands were all mossy and dirty but so were his clothes and Minhyun’s clothes and screw it it didn’t even matter because Minhyun was kissing him and he was kissing Minhyun and that made everything perfect somehow. He let his hands rest on Minhyun’s waist and closed his eyes, humming quietly as the taller boy shifted a little to one side, to kiss him more confidently.

 

He would have punched himself for ever saying it out loud, but in the back of his mind, Dongho wondered if this was its own kind of magic.

Holding Minhyun close like this was even better than looking at him. And he was  _ nice _ to look at. With Minhyun as close as he was, Dongho could feel the other boy’s heartbeat pounding just as rapidly as his own. He didn’t really want it to end, but eventually, Minhyun pulled away just a bit.

 

“It was a lot cooler in my head,” Minhyun was so close, his lips brushed against Dongho’s lightly as he spoke. Dongho wanted to lean in to kiss him again. “But I guess it worked out.”

 

“You could say that.” He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

 

Waiting until Minhyun took a step back before picking the feathers up from the ground, Dongho dropped them into the bag. As soon as the feathers left his hold, Minhyun reached out to take Dongho’s hand in his own properly, giving a firm squeeze.

Dongho could get used to this.

 

“So you’re always free on the fourteenth…?” Minhyun stroked his thumb lightly over the back of Dongho’s hand, drawing tiny heart shapes like he thought Dongho wouldn’t notice. Or maybe like he thought he would notice. “To come out into the forest like this? Maybe with some company?”

 

“Yeah.” Eloquent, maybe not. But when Minhyun tugged on his hand to bring him closer to his side, Dongho figured it was good enough, anyway. “I could use some good company.”

 

“I’m the  _ best _ company.” He planted a quick kiss on Dongho’s cheek, and with another tug, led him in the direction of another tree. They still had the rest of the day to themselves, after all, and the moss and feathers wouldn’t gather themselves. Even if it might take a little longer with plenty of pauses for kissing.

 

This definitely beat out spending all day brushing the reptiles.

 

Any day.

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's day to the baekmin tag ♥ i love you


End file.
